Christchurch tracking towards its gloomiest June ever

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Persistent drizzle is driving Christchurch towards its gloomiest June ever, with less than an hour of sunshine a day and twice as much rain as usual.

The Garden City has recorded just 13 hours and 48 minutes of sunlight recorded so far – well below the 119-hour average for the month. Only six days have been rain free.

According to MetService, it could end as the greyest June in 37 years. A series of lows had pushed misty weather, very low cloud and fog over the city, meteorologist Mark Bowe said.

Bowe said wet weather patterns usually came from the west, and brought rain to the west of the South Island and fine weather and dry skies to the east.

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Over the past month eastern parts of the South Island had been getting predominantly easterly wind, which, combined with a series of north-tracking lows, helped push dreary skies over the east coast of the South Island.

Canterbury Weather Updates analyst Russel Voice said a 'combination of factors' were responsible for the prolonged grey period, including a lack of high energy systems, resulting in weaker airflows.

In 1981, Christchurch recorded fewer than 60 hours of sunshine – more than double what Christchurch has so far received. Voice said that record was 'under threat'.

'While those cold grey days in the Garden City are fairly frequent during our winter months, it's unusual to see such an extended period of time without any fronts of substance from the west and south. We need a southerly or strong nor-wester to move all this stubborn low cloud and drizzle away.

'The end result of this low cloud and drizzle is a lack of frosty nights, milder overnight temperatures, [and] of course a higher number of single digit highs.'

Bowe, of the MetService, said it was too early to say what the rest of the month would hold, and a run of 'good days' could spike the average back up.

The forecast was for gloomy skies for the next five days, coupled with scattered drizzle and light winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures would plummet to -1 degrees Celsius overnight on Thursday, when the opportunity for sunshine would be further obstructed by the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

Relentless rain has added to the city's woes and drenched sodden sports grounds with twice as much rain as usual.

Thousands of youngsters were kept from trainings and Saturday matches for the second weekend in a row and facing a third with hundreds of fields closed, including many that were upgraded last year to better withstand wet weather and growing demand.

More than two thirds of the city's total rainfall from last year has already lashed Christchurch. The total rainfall so far for June is 87.8mm, well over the average for the entire month of 56.2mm. Earlier in the month, a cold front within a larger trough of low pressure battered Canterbury with severe southerly gales, plummeting temperatures, rain and snow.

Southern towns at higher elevations have escaped the grim grey blanket. Castle Hill Village and Hanmer Springs had enjoyed 'fantastic sunny days', Voice said.

Skifields are also tracking along, with Porters Ski Area to open on Friday. At Mt Hutt, 7cm of new snow fell overnight and warm conditions have caused a heavy snow crust off trail.

The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand warned a lack of sunlight could trigger irritability, a change in sleeping patterns or a persistent low, sad or depressed mood.

'The drop in sunlight hours affects the body's chemical balances and make our body clock go out of step. These changes in the brain can make some people vulnerable to [Seasonal Affective Disorder].'

Natural sunlight has a mild anti-depressive effect. Seasonal Affective Disorder is more prevalent in countries where winter days are extremely short and winter nights long.